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Rwanda Basketball League

The Rwanda Basketball League (RBL) (formerly the National Basketball League Rwanda) is the top professional basketball league in Rwanda.[1] Its season usually runs from November to September. The winners of the NBL season qualify for the qualifiers for the Basketball Africa League (BAL).

The league currently consists of 10 teams, most of them being from the country's capital Kigali. The current champion of the RBL are APR, who are the league’s most decorated team with a record 14 championships. Other notable teams are REG and their rivals Patriots, who have been powerhouses in recent years.

Since the 2021–22 season, the FERWABA also organises the RBL Division 2 to which the bottom two teams of the RBL relegate.[2]

History

Basketball was introduced in Rwanda in 1930 by Catholic priests, who first thought the sport at high schools in the Southern Province. The following decades, the presence of the sport increased as the military and some public institutions created basketball teams. In 1974, the national basketball federation FERWABA was established. Three years later, in 1977, the first national league was created.[3]

The 1994 Rwandan genocide threw the sport back, because Tutsi players, spectators and administrators died and crucial infrastructure was destroyed.[3]

In the 2000s, APR was the dominant team in Rwanda and it participated in the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup thrice. Its best result was a bronze medal in 2009.

From 2011 to 2015, Espoir BBC won four straight national titles. From then, two newly established teams REG (owned by the Rwanda Energy Group) and Patriots entered the league. The two teams became rivals and played each other in the finals for several years.

In the 2020s, the Basketball Africa League (BAL) was introduced – the first editions were hosted by the BK Arena in Kigali. Patriots finished in fourth place in the inaugural 2021 season. The league changed its name to the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL) in 2023. FERWABA introduced two new competitions, the Rwanda Cup and the Rwanda Super Cup, for the 2024 season.[4]

Current teams

2024 teams

The following teams will play in the 2024 RBL season:

Sources: [5]

Former teams

[nb 1]

Champions

The following is a list of all documented Rwandan top-flight league champions:[7]

Finals (2007–present)

The following is a list of the league's final playoff series, or if not applicable the season's final standings.

Performance by club

Individual awards

Most Valuable Player

After each RBL season, one player is named the Most valuable player of the competition. Olivier Shyaka is the only player to have won at least two MVP awards.

Playoffs MVP

Since 2023, the league also gives an award to the best performing player of the playoffs.

Team of the Year

Players in bold were named the season's Most Valuable Player.

In African competitions

Each year, the champions of the NBL were placed for the qualifiers of the FIBA Africa Basketball League, the premiere pan-African competition. Since 2020, this league is replaced by the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The following list shows Rwandan teams which played in a main tournament:

In the Basketball Africa League

See also

Notes

  1. ^ From.[6] Four teams play home games outside Kigali – RP-IPRC Huye BBC and UR BBC-MEN (Butare), RP IPRC MUSANZE (Ruhengeri), and RUSIZI Basketball Club (Cyangugu). The remaining ten teams all play games at Kigali venues Club Rafiki, Kigali Arena, NPC, Petit stade Remera, and RP-IPRC Kigali.

References

  1. ^ Rwanda: Basketball League - Espoir Wary of IPRC-Kigali Bishumba, Richard, All Africa. 25 March 2016, retrieved 16 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Basketball: Ferwaba releases draw for second division league". The New Times | Rwanda. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b "About Ferwaba – Rwanda Basketball Federation". Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (17 December 2023). "2024 basketball league set for February 9". The New Times. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Rwandan Basketball (Men) Teams". AfroBasket. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Schedule". Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  7. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (21 August 2023). "Basketball: A look at the teams competing in playoffs". The New Times. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  8. ^ "KBC crowned Champions". The New Times | Rwanda. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b Kamasa, Peter (17 November 2013). "Espoir's Ngangu named MVP". The New Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Bishumba, Richard (10 August 2015). "Espoir retain Hoops Play-offs title". The New Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b Bishumba, Richard (30 July 2017). "Patriots beat REG to win hoops playoff finals". The New Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  12. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (5 May 2018). "Patriots crowned basketball league champions". The New Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Les Patriots sacrés champions du Rwanda après avoir battu le REG BBC dans un Game 7 palpitant". NEWS BASKET BEAFRIKA (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  14. ^ Demba, Varore (25 October 2020). "Basket : Patriots champion du Rwanda". Sport News Africa (in French). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Basketball: REG crowned national league champions". The New Times | Rwanda. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  16. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (19 September 2022). "REG retain championship after Patriots win". The New Times. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  17. ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (9 September 2023). "PHOTOS: Basketball: APR clinch first championship in 14 years". The New Times. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Buzangu named hoops league 2014 MVP". The New Times. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  19. ^ Asiimwe, Geoffrey (16 July 2016). "Meet Kubwimana, the 2015-16 MVP primed for stardom". The New Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  20. ^ a b "PHOTOS: Ndizeye named MVP". The New Times | Rwanda. 2 November 2019.
  21. ^ a b Sikubwabo, Damas (24 September 2022). "Photos: Basketball: Axel Mpoyo named MVP as league winds up". The New Times. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  22. ^ "https://twitter.com/ferwabaRW/status/1700472177521263036". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 29 October 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  23. ^ [1]

External links